Flo & Jones: Florrie Stockbridge, left, and Helmsley Arts Centre artistic director Natasha Jones team up to perform at Kirkbymoorside Gateway To The Moors Music Festival
KIRKBYMOORSIDE’S three-day music festival and The Three Inch Fools’ garden comedy catch Charles Hutchinson’s eye as August arrives.
Festival of the week: Kirkbymoorside Gateway To The Moors Music Festival, Friday to Sunday
BOOTLEG 60s play the Sixties Night at Kirkbymoorside Memorial Hall on Friday (8.30pm), followed by The Breeze, supported by PJ, at Saturday’s Country Night (8pm). PJ will be holding a line-dancing class that day too (3pm). Sunday afternoon’s 1940s Tea Dance combines afternoon tea and a glass of fizz with Forties’ music, featuring DJ Lynne and Bev Martin (2pm).
All Saints’ Church plays host to Carrie Martin and John Drakes on Friday, from 5.30pm; Saturday performances by Wounded Bear at 2pm, Flo & Jones at 4.30pm and Jazz with John Lane & Friends at 7.30pm, then Sunday’s 2pm concert by Moorland Voices & Friday Orchestra Quartet.
Ryedale singers play for free in pubs and cafes on Saturday; teenage band Chocolatebox perform at the White Swan on Saturday afternoon (12.30pm); David Swann & Friends are in action at the Methodist Church on Sunday (4.30pm). Look out for classical, brass band, children’s disco, open-mic and history walk events too. For more information and tickets, go to: kirkbymoorsidetown.co.uk/gateway-to-the-moors-music-festival.
The Three Inch Fools: Heading to Helmsley Walled Garden to present Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Outdoor play of the week: The Three Inch Fools in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Helmsley Walled Garden, Helmsley, Friday, 7pm. Gates open at 6pm
ON Midsummer’s eve, deep in an enchanted forest, mischief is stirring in Cumbrian company Three Inch Fools’ staging of Shakespeare’s comedy. The Fairy King and Queen are feuding, four runaway lovers are tying themselves in knots, and a troupe of “Rude Mechanical” actors is preparing a theatrical extravaganza destined to impress. Put shape-shifting trouble-maker Puck at the helm, and the course of true love will never run smooth.
Bring cushions and camping chairs, but no umbrellas, to James and Stephen Hyde’s tenth anniversary open-air adventure, part of a summer tour of 136 performances at 112 locations. Come prepared for the weather: the performance will continue, come rain or shine. Box office: helmsleywalledgarden.org.uk.
Faithless: Bringing Mass Destruction to Scarborough Open Air Theatre this weekend
Coastal gig of the week: Faithless and Orbital, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Saturday. Gates open at 6pm
RETURNING to the concert platform last year after an eight-year hiatus, Faithless remain one of the most influential, boundary-pushing electronic acts of the 21st century with 17 Top 40 singles and six Top Ten albums to their name. Here come Salva Mea, One Step Too Far, Mass Destruction, Insomnia, God Is A DJ et al.
First up will be Phil and Paul Hartnoll’s electronic duo Orbital, whose music draws on ambient, electro, punk and film scores, spread across ten albums. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
Orland James’s Henry VIII and Martin Shaw’s Sir Thomas More, right, in Robert Bolt’s A Man For All Seasons, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Simon Annand
Political play of the week: A Man For All Seasons, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees
NOW 80, The Professionals, Judge John Deed and Inspector George Gently star Martin Shaw plays Sir Thomas More: scholar, ambassador, Lord Chancellor, friend to King Henry VIII and a man of integrity in Robert Bolt’s play, directed by Jonathan Church.
When Henry demands a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, clearing the way for him to marry Anne Boleyn, the staunchly Catholic Thomas is forced to choose between loyalty and conscience, committing an act of defiance that will lead only to the ultimate price. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
The Alligators: Snapping into blues action at Milton Rooms, Malton
Blues gig of the week number one: Ryedale Blues Club, The Alligators, Milton Rooms, Malton, tomorrow, 8pm
EAST Yorkshire electric blues trio The Alligators formed in 2004 to play old-style rhythm & blues with the classic line-up of guitar, bass and drums. Concentrating on a live sound rooted in Chicago, New Orleans and Texas blues, slide guitar features heavily in several numbers. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Alex Voysey: Best Of The Blues at Kirk Theatre, Pickering. Picture: Tony Cole Photography
Blues rock gig of the week number two: The Alex Voysey Blues Band presents Best Of The Blues, Kirk Theatre Pickering, Saturday, 7.30pm
NOMINATED for Contemporary Blues Artist of the Year, Album of the Year and Emerging Artist of the Year in the 2025 UK Blues Federation Awards, guitarist Alex Voysey combines tracks from his May 2024 album Blues In Isolation with material from his inspirations, Joe Bonamassa, Stevie Ray Vaughan, BB King, Keb Mo and many more. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.
York Stage’s poster for Disney’s Dare To Dream Jr at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York
Musical revue of the week: York Stage in Disney’s Dare to Dream Jr, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2pm and 4pm
HONOURING 100 years of Disney music, this60-minute revue follows eager trainees on their first day at a fictional Walt Disney Imagineering Studio. As they set out to help each other discover their dreams, they work together to explore the power of those dreams to unite, inspire and make anything possible.
Disney’s Dare To Dream Jr includes songs that appear for the first time in a Disney stage musical, notably fan favourites from The Princess And The Frog, Coco, Enchanto and Frozen II in a showcase of contemporary songs, timeless classics and new medleys. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Hitting the sweet spot: Sweet Legacies exhibition at York Theatre Royal
Exhibition of the week: Sweet Legacies, York Theatre Royal, until August 3
YORK Theatre Royal’s foyer is transformed into a pop-up exhibition of photography, visual arts, audio, film and more as part of the Sweet Legacies community engagement project. The project has seen the Theatre Royal work with 22 community groups across the city to put on a series of fun, free and inclusive activities and events. Admission is free.
James Dowdeswell: Headlining Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club at The Basement on Saturday
Comedy gig of the week: Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, Saturday, 8pm
JAMES Dowdeswell, from the BBC’s Russell Howard’s Good News and Ricky Gervais’s Extras, combines deft stand-up with daft stories in his erudite, off-the-cuff headline set this weekend. A comedic authority on beer, wine and pubs, he is the author of The Pub Manifesto: A Comedian Stands Up For Pubs.
On the bill too are northern humorist Anth Young, Scotland-based Singaporean comic Laura Quinn Goh and regular host Damion Larkin. Box office: lolcomedyclubs.co.uk.